The present disclosure relates to an electrical adapter. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an electrical adapter for use with a triaxial cable, and to a method for using the same.
A source measurement unit (SMU) may be used to develop and analyze a device under test (DUT). A typical SMU is able to provide precise voltage sourcing and current sourcing to the DUT. Also, a typical SMU is able to monitor voltage and current consumed by the DUT.
Known SMU's include banana jack terminals for connecting to the DUT. These banana jack terminals accommodate use of single-conductor banana cables, not triaxial (or triax) cables, which may produce less noise and leakage than banana plug cables, for example.
The present disclosure relates to an electrical adapter for coupling a triaxial cable to a device having a plurality of banana terminals, and to a method for using the same. A need for the invention was identified by the United States Navy, a search for a technical solution which met this need was conducted over time, and no technical solution was found to satisfy the needs which gave rise to this invention. Thus, this invention satisfied a long felt need.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an adapter is provided for use with a triaxial cable having a center conductor, a middle conductor that surrounds the center conductor, and an outer conductor that surrounds the middle conductor. The adapter includes a triaxial connector, a first single-conductor connector, and a second single-conductor connector. The triaxial connector includes a center connector portion, a middle connector portion, and an outer connector portion, the triaxial connector configured to couple to the triaxial cable such that the center connector portion is in electrical communication with the center conductor of the triaxial cable, the middle connector portion is in electrical communication with the middle conductor of the triaxial cable, and the outer connector portion is in electrical communication with the outer conductor of the triaxial cable. The first single-conductor connector is in electrical communication with the center connector portion of the triaxial connector. The second single-conductor connector is in electrical communication with the middle connector portion of the triaxial connector.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the adapter is provided with an electronic device having a first banana jack terminal and a second banana jack terminal.
According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method is provided for connecting electrical components using a triaxial cable, the triaxial cable having a center conductor, a middle conductor that surrounds the center conductor, and an outer conductor that surrounds the middle conductor. The method includes the steps of: providing an adapter including a first banana connector and a second banana connector; connecting the triaxial cable to the adapter such that the center conductor of the triaxial cable is in electrical communication with the first banana connector of the adapter and the middle conductor of the triaxial cable is in electrical communication with the second banana connector of the adapter; providing an electronic device including a first banana terminal and a second banana terminal; and connecting the adapter to the electronic device such that the first banana connector of the adapter is in electrical communication with the first banana terminal of the electronic device and the second banana connector of the adapter is in electrical communication with the second banana terminal of the electronic device.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.